A Tragic Surprise
by Rounin
Summary: During their short time together, Isaac gives Mia one of his gifts. Through his best friend, Garet, he reveals the surprise that he never had the chance to give to her...It's been slightly revised...Please read and review!


Hey everyone! I'm back with another story! I'm sort of putting my other fic Golden Sun: Dark Risings aside for now as I am busy with schoolwork and my Algebra ll midterm's coming up. On top of that, I have a chemistry test to study for as well, so yeah...I apologize to my readers who are waiting for me to update Dark Risings.

This fic's a one-shot and is complete as of now...I'm considering about making this fic into a two-shot (is that what you call two-chapter fics? I seriously have no clue...) The idea came to my head while I was listening to some contemporary jazz music...what an influence jazz music can have on authors!:) Your suggestions and criticism are welcome as they will help me improve my writing skills greatly!

I'm sure you've noticed, but I've changed the title since The Hero's Final Gift doesn't really fit with the fic I've written up...and like I've said in the summary, I revised this fic a bit, but most of it is the same...I only changed a few sentences here and there...Regardless of the title change and the slight revision, enjoy!!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Golden Sun!

* * *

Mia was sitting on the rooftop of their home, which had been graciously given to them by Kyle and Dora after the reconstruction of Vale; the couple was now living in a cottage near Kraden's. From up here, she could see New Vale's plaza and the small village gates. Looking at the setting sun in the horizon, she watched the gates eagerly, awaiting his return from the assignment…an assignment she wished he never had to accept.

It had been a month ago since Isaac had left with Garet, Felix, Piers, and twenty of Vale's best men to Lunpa. According to the information that was given by the mayor, Dodonpa managed to break out of his prison and take over his father's throne by force. Driven out by his own son, Donpa managed to flee out of the village with a few loyal soldiers and noble thieves. They arrived at New Vale a few hours later and immediately went to Garet's grandfather, asking for assistance.

As she shifted her gaze from the gates, Mia spotted the cherry blossom tree that she and Isaac, with the help of Kay, had planted several months ago. It was growing nicely with the little, pink flowers starting to sprout from its fragile branches and the grown ones beginning to fall to the grass below. Looking at it reminded her of the strolls they used to go on every morning which would always end with the two of them sitting under that tree. It was also a reminder of that day Isaac was called over by the mayor. She remembered it clearly, as if it all happened yesterday…

_Mia and Isaac had finished their usual morning walk and were now resting under the cherry blossom tree. There was a cool, morning breeze in the air and the grass beneath them had some dew on its blades, which was dampening their clothing as they continued to sit, but the two didn't care at all. Fallen cherry blossoms surrounded the two as Isaac had one arm around Mia, who was leaning against his shoulder._

_Mia shivered slightly as another breeze blew past them. Isaac looked down at her._

"_Are you cold, Mia? Would you like to go inside now?"_

_She shook her head. "No, let's stay here a little longer. I'm fine." Isaac gave a slight chuckle as he saw her remove her cape and wrap it around herself._

"_Are you sure you're not cold?" he asked. "You seem like you are. Here." He untied his dark yellow scarf and carefully wrapped it around Mia's neck. "That should keep you warm and if you don't mind getting your cloak wet, you can rest your head on my lap."_

_Mia smiled and laid her cloak on the wet grass. "Your too kind, Isaac. I don't mind; I can always wash it." As she laid on it, she rested her head gently on his lap. "If your leg starts to become numb, tell me ok?" she asked looking up at him. _

"_No need to worry, my dear." Isaac said softly as he removed some of the stray blue strands of hair from Mia's face. "You're as light as a feather and as pure as the water on Weyard."  
_

"_Oh don't flatter me, Isaac!" Mia exclaimed, turning her head away from him. Isaac grinned as he saw a tinge of pink started to become visible on her cheeks. _

"_Any minute now and your cheeks will become as rosy as these cherry blossoms above us!" Isaac teased. He started to laugh as he saw her face turning red. _

"_Stop it, Isaac!" Mia cried as she tried to reach out and smack Isaac playfully on the head. He leaned back to avoid her hand, but winced in pain as his head hit the rough bark behind him._

"_Hah! That's what you get for making fun of me!" Mia giggled as Isaac rubbed the back of his head. Another breeze blew by them, showering the two with more pink flowers. _

_Isaac spotted a fully-bloomed flower which had fallen next to him. Gently, he picked it up and placed it on Mia's hair, just above her right ear. "There. A cherry blossom fit for you." His eyes widened a bit. "That also reminds me…Let me look for it…"_

_She looked at him with some confusion as Isaac frantically started fishing for something in his pants pocket. He felt a surge of relief as metal touch his fingertips._

"_Mia." he started. "There is something more I would like to give you." He was about to utter another word and take the item out of his pocket when he heard his name being called. The voice belonged to his best friend, Garet. _

"_Isaac! Isaac!" Garet panted as he descended a flight of steps and continued to run, but stopped when he saw them. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"_

"_No, Garet. You are not interrupting anything." Isaac answered half-irritatingly. "What is it?"_

"_My grandpa's lookin' for you. It's sort of...important." Garet said apologetically, scratching the back of his head. "Uhh…Please excuse us, Mia. I hope I didn't ruin anything."_

_Mia sat up, shaking her head. "No, you didn't do anything. We were just about to go back into the house." _

_Isaac stood up and joined Garet. He looked back at Mia who was still sitting. "Forgive me, Mia. I'm afraid this is important. I promise we'll finish this later. Besides, it's sort of my little surprise."_

_She stood up, unfurled the scarf from her neck and returned it to Isaac. "It's fine. Whatever it is you wanted to tell me can wait, but do hurry back after your talk with the mayor."_

"_I'll be back as soon as I can." Isaac assured her, taking the scarf and wrapping it on himself. _

"_By the way, that cherry blossom looks nice on your hair." Garet complimented. _

"_Thank you, Garet." Mia said, smiling at the two. "Isaac says so as well." She watched as they ran off in the direction of Garet's house where his grandfather, the mayor of Vale, was waiting for them. _

Mia dug out a small jar from her robes pocket. Inside was the cherry blossom which Isaac had given to her that day. The flower was still in perfect condition, just as if he had given it to her today. She had been preserving the flower by freezing it slightly with her Ice Psynergy; the freezing process had slowed its growth, thus keeping it fresh.

She held it close to her as she looked back at New Vale's gates. Her heart started to beat faster as she looked closely; was she losing it or was that a group of people entering the gates right that minute. Was one of them Isaac? She couldn't tell, but that probably meant Isaac and the others were back from Lunpa.

However, it was odd how there were only a few of them left. They left Vale with twenty men, excluding Isaac, Garet, Felix, and Piers and now there seems to be only about a small handful of men left. Did they lose some men during their battle at Lunpa? Her fingers gripped the jar containing the cherry blossom tightly; she hoped that Isaac had survived. Without further hesitation, she clambered down the ladder and ran as fast as she could to the plaza to meet up with the returning group who she saw were headed for the inn…

* * *

Garet, Felix, and Piers were sitting around the dining table in the inn, waiting for the chef to return with their dinner. Around them, the remaining five men out of the twenty who had gone with them were rejoicing their victory as they chugged down some ale, ate heartily, and chatted ceaselessly with each other. Felix and Piers ignored the raucous and watched as Garet sat there gloomily, toying with the salt dispenser.

The Mars adept looked up at them and slouched in his seat. "Man, life really isn't fair! Why did it have to be like this?!"

"I know how you feel." Piers said. "But we'll have to tell about it sooner or later."

Felix looked around to see if the chef was coming with their food, but quickly looked back at Garet and Piers when he saw Mia entering the inn. "I think breaking the news is going to be sooner than you think." He looked at Garet. "You should be the one to do it."

Garet was taken back by the suggestion. "Why me? I thought we were going to tell as a group."

Felix sighed. "Don't you get it? She's known you longer than us! You've traveled with her the longest. You should know her well by now."

"How am I supposed to break it to her?" Garet asked. "You know me. I'm the worst person to ask when it comes to consolations!"

"Just try your best, Garet. Whichever way you try to tell her, I'm sure she'll understand." Piers assured him.

"You should go and meet with her before she finds our table and wonders why Isaac's not with us." Felix added.

Garet placed the salt dispenser next to the pepper one and stood up. "All right, I'll do it!" he said indignantly as he started walking away, but stopped and returned to the table. Garet dug out five gold coins and placed them on the table.

"When the chef arrives with the food, give him these as a tip." he said to Felix and Piers. "Tell him it's my thanks for letting us eat here for free." With a serious expression, he strode away from the table.

Mia weaved her way around the inn in search of the group. The inn was pretty packed tonight; perhaps the innkeeper had called out a small celebration for the warriors' return. This made her more eager to search for Isaac. She jumped slightly as she felt a finger tapping her shoulder. Turning around, she was relieved to see Garet.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." he said. "Are you all right?"

Mia smiled. "I'm fine, Garet. Thank you." Her eyes looked past him and she leaned to the side a little bit to see if he was with him. "Where's Isaac?"

Garet felt cold sweat running down his back. He can't break it to her in here; it would ruin the good spirits of the people who were having a good time. He had no choice but to lie to her for now.

"He's upstairs…asleep." Garet said hesitantly. For a moment, Mia looked like she wasn't going to take his excuse, but decided to dismiss it.

"Oh, that's fine then. I'll just let him sleep. After all he needs his rest." With those words, she turned around and was about to leave when she felt Garet's hand on her shoulder.

"If it's all right with you, can I come over to your house after dinner and speak with you briefly?" he asked.

"Sure." Mia replied. "I'll be waiting for you." Garet let go and watched her leave the inn. When he saw the door close behind her, he started heading back to their table. There, he found Felix and Piers already eating their meals.

Garet grinned as he took a seat. "Mmm! My favorite dish! The chef knows me too well!"

Felix swallowed his mouthful of food. "So, did you tell Mia?"

Garet's smile quickly vanished. He shook his head slowly as he picked up his fork and knife and began to cut his steak. "Not yet. I sort of…lied to her."

"You lied to her? Why?" Piers tried to ask through his mouthful of food.

"Sorry guys, but I can't risk telling her in here. Besides, there's no privacy in this inn! Everywhere you go; there are people around who would be eavesdropping on us if we talked here. I told her Isaac was upstairs, asleep." Garet explained.

"Nice going, Garet!" Felix said angrily. "Now you'll break her heart even more when you tell her the truth!"

Garet ignored Felix's comment and continued to eat silently. His eyes looked at the window above Felix. Strangely, the blue was beginning to turn dark with grey clouds...

_"Strange...I thought that the elder in Lunpa said that Angara would be scorching hot all week. Was he wrong?"_ Garet thought as he continued to look out the window.

"Don't be so hard on him, Felix. I'm sure he knows what he's doing." he heard Piers say to Felix.

Felix glared at the Mars adept. "I hope so."

* * *

Mia was in the living room of their house, sitting by the fireplace and staring at the flames eating away at the firewood. She heard the fall of raindrops as they pattered against the window.

"_Strange…It's raining. The sky was clear this afternoon when I was making my way to the inn."_ Mia thought as she watched the water drip down the window. _"Well, a little rain can't hurt. At least the cherry blossom tree outside will grow even nicer with this rain. It hasn't rained since about a week ago."_

She ignored the sound of the rain and went back to staring at the fireplace, thinking about her meeting with Garet at the inn earlier. Why did he seem so hesitant when she asked for Isaac? Maybe she was just being too judgmental with his response, but he wasn't acting like himself. The fearless Garet she knew was always full of jokes and laughter; not what she saw from him that afternoon. Remembering their travels to the lighthouses last year, the only time she noticed Garet being that serious was atop the Venus lighthouse when they learned that Jenna was in Idejima.

A knock from the door interrupted her thoughts. Behind it, she heard Garet's voice calling her name. Standing up, she walked over to open it and a soaked Garet came in, leaving puddles of water behind him.

Mia quickly grabbed one of the hand towels from the kitchen and handed it to him. "You'll catch a cold if you don't dry yourself this instant!" she scolded as she ascended the stairs. Moments later, she returned with a dry pair of pants and a cotton shirt.

"Here. You can borrow Isaac's since the two of you wear the same size." Mia offered, handing him the set of clothes. "You can use our bedroom upstairs to change. When you're done, give me your wet clothes and I'll set them near the fireplace to dry."

"Thanks, Mia. I owe you one." Garet said as he finished drying his hair and handed the towel back to her. "I'll be quick; I promise."

Mia decided to clean up the water while Garet went up to change. When she had finished, he came back downstairs dressed in Isaac's cotton shirt and pants. In his hands were his wet, but neatly folded pants, tunic, cotton shirt, and belt.

Mia took the wet clothes from Garet. "Come with me to the living room and we can discuss things further." He followed her into the room where she laid his clothes separately near the fireplace and took a seat on the couch. Garet did likewise and sat on the one across from her.

There was a moment of silence before Garet broke it. "How should I start this? I…uhh…re-remember what I said about Isaac sleeping at the inn?"

She nodded silently, but deep inside; she feared the worst. Her hands searched her robe pockets and took the jar with the cherry blossom out.

Garet scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, Mia; but we lost Isaac in battle with Dodonpa and his men. I apologize for lying to you." He watched her reaction and he felt even worse when she held the jar close to her and started to cry silently.

"Please continue. What happened to him." she whispered almost inaudibly. Garet stood up and took a seat next to her.

"Do you really want to know what happened? I don't want you to become any more upset than you are now." he asked her, placing an arm around her for comfort.

Mia shook her head. "It would give me some comfort if you told me how he fell in battle. Please continue."

"All right." Garet sighed. "This is how it all started…"

_Isaac, Garet, Felix, Piers, and the remainder of their twenty were fending off Dodonpa's soldiers as they surrounded the group. Dead bodies from Isaac's and Dodonpa's men lay strewn on the ground around them. The son of Donpa himself was sitting comfortably on his father's throne watching them with some amusement._

"_Had enough, Isaac of Vale, or are you and your pathetic small army going to continue this useless onslaught?" Dodonpa asked mockingly._

"_No!" Isaac yelled as he slew another one of Dodonpa's men with a quick stab. "I'll never back away! When we're done here, you would've wished you ran and hid away like the coward you are!"_

"_Hah! Run away you say? Haven't you looked at yourselves!? You should be the ones to run away!" Dodonpa snorted. Isaac hated to admit it, but he was right; he and his companions were gradually growing exhausted from the fight and were filled with wounds from head to toe. _

"_Yes, we've had a look at ourselves." he heard Felix say. "Even though we're outnumbered here, it's our determination that keeps us going! You're threats and mockery won't make us surrender!"_

"_Yeah! You tell that jerk, Felix!" Garet chortled. "You heard that, thief? Stop being a coward and face us!"_

_Dodonpa's stared in disbelief as he watched Piers take down the last of their soldiers. Now the great hall of the Lunpa fortress was littered with soldiers' bodies thanks to those Valeans!_

_Isaac pointed his Sol Blade at the thief still sitting on the throne. "Surrender peacefully, Dodonpa! It's all over!"_

_The thief snickered and drew his saber. "You think slaying all my men will make me surrender? Think again, runt!" He rushed at them, lifting his sword above his head. "The lot of you will all die where you stand!"_

_Isaac quickly blocked his attack. "We don't go down that easy, even through serious wounds. Attacking us with a mere saber won't do the trick!"_

"_Don't mock me, you imbecile!" Dodonpa yelled as he started his onslaught. Through the thief's and Isaac's companions' amazements, the young Venus adept blocked every single attack that was thrown at him. In the end, the Sol Blade broke the fragile saber, unarming and injuring the opponent in the process._

_To Isaac's surprise, Dodonpa was standing there, laughing as blood started seeping out of his wounds and dripping on the stone floor. "You think that's going to stop me as well? In case you don't know, I have one more surprise for you." He snapped his fingers three times and ten score of archers appeared from behind the pillars in the room with their arrows trained on the group._

"_Your choice. Go down as a group, or surrender to me!" Dodonpa said. _

"_Felix, you, Garet, and Piers lead the others out of here." Isaac ordered without turning around to face them. "This will get dangerous and I don't want you guys to get caught up in my attack."_

_Realization hit Garet first. "Isaac…You're not serious…are you?"_

"_There's no other way to bring him down." Isaac concluded. "If we try to attack him, his archers are going to kill us all within seconds! By the looks in their eyes, they seem to be very skilled with the art of the marksman."_

"_You're going to sacrifice yourself so we can get out of here safely?" Felix asked. "Isaac, that's absurd!"_

"_It may be absurd, but it would be ridiculous if none of us returned to Vale at all because of one trap." Isaac retorted. "Now get yourselves out of here!" Garet watched as Isaac's Sol Blade started to grow a crimson red._

"_What about Mia and your parents, Isaac!" Piers exclaimed. _

_Isaac lowered his head. "Break the news to them as soon as you get back to Vale." This time, he turned to face them and his face was stained with tears. "Garet, please give Mia this and tell her that I'm sorry for breaking my promise." He tossed him a small, velvet box and turned away from them. He wiped his face with a tattered glove._

"_Get out of here! Now!" Isaac yelled at the top of his voice. Without being told again, Felix, Garet, Piers, and their five men started running for the door which would take them back to the corridors and eventually lead out to Lunpa._

_Dodonpa snapped his fingers once. "They're not going to get out of here either!" As the archers trained their arrows on Felix's fleeing group and fired, Isaac swung the crimson-looking Sol Blade, causing a trail of fire to emit from it. The flames burned the arrows right away before they even left the bows of the archers._

_When Felix and the others made it back to Lunpa, they felt the ground shake and heard a loud boom. Everyone, including them, looked in the direction of the fortress as a dome of light surrounded it. At that moment, Felix, Garet, Piers, and their men lowered their heads in silence..._

"And that's the whole story." Garet concluded. Silence had filled the room save for the sound of heavy raindrops outside. Mia watched as he stood up and went to his tunic, which was still lying out to dry near the fireplace. He retrieved the velvet box which Isaac had given to him back at Lunpa and took his seat next to her.

"I don't know what's inside, but Isaac wanted you to have this. Sorry, it's a little damp from the rain." he said, handing it to her.

Mia took the box from him and opened it slowly. More tears streaked her face as she saw its contents; a matching silver sapphire amulet and ring. Small diamonds were surrounding the blue gem and it was hanging from a thin, silver chain. She took the amulet from the velvet box and fastened it around her neck. Then she carefully slipped the ring on her ring finger.

Garet stood up and went to retrieve his clothes from near the fireplace. "Well, I must be going now."

"It's pouring outside, Garet. You're going to get wet again! If you would like, you may stay here for the night." Mia offered. "But I don't want your family to worry about you."

"If you want me to stay with you then I would be happy to." he crossed his arms and laughed. "Heh! My family won't worry. Besides, I'm not a kid anymore!"

"Then…you will stay?" Mia asked hopefully.

He left his clothes to dry by the fireplace and took a seat next to her. "Of course I'll stay with you!" The Mars adept looked up at the ceiling. "Besides, I don't want Isaac haunting me in my sleep because I left you alone in the house!"


End file.
